A new technology feature from Continental targeted at improving performance and productivity for its off-the-road tyre customers is set to arrive in the Middle East in the second half of this year.
According to the German tyre and automotive technology company, its new ContiLogger is a consultancy concept that offers cost-effective analysis of cycle downtime, distance, speed, lateral forces, cornering and road grade, enabling optimised route management and coordinated tyre use.
ContiLogger, which had its world premiere at Bauma 2019 earlier this month, combines tyres, hardware, software, data and manpower into an individual consulting service approach, says the company. Using a range of components, including GPS, the new system captures data such as tyre pressure, tyre temperature and vehicle and topographic data in real-life applications and transmits it to Continental experts for analysis.
With the aid of the GPS-generated data, Continental field engineers will be able to identify whether a tyre is being overloaded or underused and thus extend tyre lifetime and adapt operational processes so that overall productivity is increased.
“This is a holistic concept because it involves evaluating the application as a whole. We see this as extremely important in the OTR earthmoving business, where conditions are exceptionally harsh and the high cost of replacing tyres means that proper tyre servicing and consulting are essential,” said Enno Straten, head of Continental Commercial Specialty Tyres (CST).
When using the ContiLogger service concept, a Continental customer solution engineer will first conduct a field study to understand the working environment in which the tyres will operate, using a data logger to measure speed, distance, location, lateral forces, elevation change, road grade, cycle downtime and the pressure and temperature of the tyres. The information collected will be analysed to make data-driven observations, which will enable the engineer to make recommendations regarding significant tyre challenges and possible application improvements aimed at optimising tyre and equipment life and improving operational processes.
Continental also said it is in the process of refining and enhancing the ContiLogger service concept in close cooperation with customers by working on a complementary remote version that will see shift the concept from a single/one-time solution to a remote service and consultancy solution.